Device for assembling textile goods and especially for closing the toes on seamless stockings



July 29, 1969 J. P. SALTIEL 3,457,885

DEVICE FOR ASSEMBLING TEXTILE GOODS AND ESPECIALLY FOR CLOSING THE TOES ON SEAMLESS STOCKINGS Filed Jan. 16. 1968 INVENTOF? JOSEPH PEPO SALTIEL ,QTTC) A/EYS United States Patent US. Cl. 112-27 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The closing of the toe on a seamless stocking is carried out by means of a sewing-machine having associated therewith a maintaining and guiding device comprising two superimposed plates. The foot end of the stocking is introduced into a cleft provided between said plates and said foot end engages the sewing mechanism of the sewing-machine. A belt drives on the foremost part of the stocking as the sewing and the cutting out proceed.

The present invention essentially relates to a machine such as a sewing, welding, gluing or the like machine for performing the assembly and possibly the slash of textile goods or the like, or again parts of such goods such as for instance vestimentary articles manufactured by knitting. In a more particular way, this invention aims at a device for closing the toes on the foot portions of scamless stockings.

Such assembly and possibly cutting-out operations are nowadays performed by engaging the article or articles to be assembled, and possibly to be cut out, into the mechanism provided on said machine to carry out the junction, for instance under the presser-foot of a sewingmachine, and by manually guiding it or them during the whole time required for such operations to be carried out. In the case where, according to the presently applied methods, the closing of seamless stockings is performed by means of a sewing machine of the whipping-shearing type, a seamstress is especially assigned to this operation which hence constitutes one of the necessary stages in the process for manufacturing such stockings.

The present invention essentially aims at avoidance of the requirement for manual attendance during the assembly action of the machine, and consequently a system to render said assembly automatic or at least semi-automatic.

The arrangement according to this invention is especially remarkable in that it provides a fold or an extra thickness in the area where said articles are to be assembled as by a seam or the like and possibly cut out, for instance on their borders, these being used to maintain and to guide said goods during their engagement in the sewing, welding, gluing or the like joining mechanism and possibly in the cutting-out mechanism of the machine, as well as during their motion through said mechanism in order to assure that the seam or the like, and possibly the cutting out, be performed automatically according to a determined pattern.

It will readily be appreciated that the arrangement according to this invention allows one to perform automatically an operation which previously was carried out by hand and that it allows one to simplify the manufac turing process with the result of reducing the cost price of the manufactured goods.

This invention also aims at a device for carrying out the aforementioned operations, said device being especially remarkable in that it includes at least one maintaining and guiding means associated with said machine and comprising means intended to receive the portion of ice said article or articles along which the assembly or junction and possibly the cutting out is or are to be performed, in such a way that the assembly or the like is made according to a determined profile when said portion is engaged in the sewing or the like mechanism of said machine.

According to another feature of the invention, said maintaining and guiding means comprises at least two super-imposed plates or the like, forming between them a slot wherein is engaged the portion of the article immediately adjoining the aforementioned fold or the like, said slot being sufliciently narrow to prevent said fold or the like from passing through it.

Still according to the invention, the aforementioned plates are placed in a mutually adjustable relative position so as to allow one to adjust the width of the aforementioned slot.

By way of new industrial products, the invention covers also sewing-machines, especially of the whipping-shearing type, as well as welding, gluing or the like machines provided with a device of the aforementioned type.

Finally, the invention aims at vestimentary or other goods assembled and possibly cut out operated upon according to the aforementioned operations, especially seamless stockings the toes of which are closed according to said operations.

ther features and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description which will follow now, made in reference to the accompanying drawings, given solely by way of example and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device conformable to the invention, associated with a sewing machine of a known type;

FIGURE 2 shows in a perspective view the maintaining and guiding means of the device, seen in the direction indicated by the arrow A on FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of line IIIIII of FIGURE 1.

In accordance with the arrangement of the embodiment represented in the drawings, the device intended to carry out the operations of the invention is more especially designed for the closing of the toes on seamless stockings, i.e. on stockings knit 0n circular machines. This closing is carried out by means of a sewing machine 1, of a known type called whipping-shearing machine, which performs a sewing of said toe before cutting away excess material. The invented device essentially comprises a maintaining and guiding means, generally indicated by the reference numeral 2, and a driving unit generally referred to as 3.

The maintaining and guiding means 2 is mainly composed of two superimposed plates, namely, a top plate 411 and a bottom plate 4b. These plates are respectively supported by an upper holder 5a and a lower holder 5b, onto which are fastened clamps 6a and 6b. Said plates 4a and 4b are adjustably mounted on said clamps 6a and 6b, with the help of screw-bolt systems or the like 7a and 7b passing through elongated holes 8a and 8b provided in said plates. The holders 5a and 5b are secured to the chasis or to a stationary component part of the sewingmachine 1 by means of brackets or the like, such as the bracket 9 which allows to fasten the holder 5a upon the casing 1a of said sewing-machine.

The plates 4a and 4b, which are substantially rectangular in shape, form between them a slot 10, the width of which depends upon the adjustable relative positions of said plates.

The holder 5a supports also a vertically movable plate 11, juxtaposed against the plate 4a. The plate 11 is subjected to the action of springs 12 which resiliently urge it against the fixed sole-piece or the like 13, substantially on level with the upper border of the bottom plate 4b to which it is fixed.

The plates 4a and 4b, the plate 11 and the sole-piece 13 may be made of any material. It is however preferred to use a transparent plastic material so as to enable the operator to readily watch the stocking while it passes in the machine.

The driving unit 3 is mainly composed of a belt 14 passing over two pulleys, namely, a drive pulley 15a and a loose pulley 15b, both mounted on a casing 16. The drive pulley 15a is actuated by an electric motor 17. The casing 16 is supported by a shaft 18 coaxial with the axle of the drive pulley 15a and is carried by two brackets or the like 19, themselves mounted on a table 20. The casing 16 is besides equipped with a bent arm 21, the upper portion 21a of which is provided with a tapped hole wherein a screw 22 engages, bearing upon the casing 1a of the sewing-machine. By screwing or by unscrewing the screw 22 as desired, the pressure exerted by the belt 14 upon the article it should carry along may thus be adjusted at will.

The closing of the toe on a stocking 23 is performed in the following way: the operator presents, laid fiat, the foot end of the stocking which has been provided, during the knitting, with a fold or the like 24, and introduces it into the slot 10, the fold being placed toward the slot side facing the machine. Then she makes the stocking slide into the slot until the foremost portion of said stocking engages the sewing and cutting-out mechanism, i.e. between the (not represented) presser-foot and the feed dogs 1b of the machine.

The stocking is driven in translation following the arrow F by said mechanism, and it is kept fiat by the plate 11 which presses it upon the sole piece 13. The belt 14 also drives on, in the direction F, the foremost part of the stocking as the sewing and the cutting-out proceed. To this effect, the loose pulley b is located substantially opposite to the feed dogs 112. Of course, the linear speed of the belt 14 is substantially equal to, or slightly above that of the speed at which the stocking is carried along by the feed dogs 11), in such a way that the stocking is slightly stretched and consequently exhibits no wrinkles. When the sewing has been carried out along the whole of the stocking 2, said stocking is retained only by the belt 14 so that, to take it out from the machine, it is sufficient to pull it off in the direction of the arrow F, as the fold is separated from the stocking. It should be noted that, even if said fold remains (in the case where there is no cutting-out), it is no longer maintained by the slot 10 and passes readily under the belt 14, owing to the resiliency of the latter.

The device according to the invention could of course be used to sew and to cut out not only a stocking, as in the represented case, but any article, vestimentary or not, or again to sew together several articles. The device could moreover be associated to a sewing-machine of any type, other than the whipping-shearing sort contemplated in the described example, or again to a machine performing a welding or gluing assembly by means of an adhesive material.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for carrying out the assembly by joining of two layers of textile articles having a fold means provided in proximity to the area where said articles are to be joined comprising a joining machine having feed means for carrying along said articles and at least one maintaining and guiding means associated with said machine, said maintaining and guiding means comprising stationary support means, an upper plate member and a lower plate member both mounted on said support means and each having a guide edge parallel to the direction in which said articles are carried along by said machine, said guide edges being vertically aligned in co-operating relationship and defining a slot having an inlet end and discharge end and being adapted to receive a portion of said articles immediately adjoining said fold means and to prevent the latter from passing through it, a vertically movable member juxtaposed against said upper plate member, a stationary sole-piece substantially on level with said guide edge of said lower plate member and spring means for resiliently urging said vertically movable member against said stationary sole-piece.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein elongated holes are formed in one at least of said plate members and wherein screw-bolt means adapted to pass through said elongated holes are provided for said support means whereby the width of said slot may be adjusted.

3. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a table, a driving unit mounted on said table and provided for driving on said articles, said driving unit comprising a rotatable shaft, a casing supported on said rotatable shaft, a drive pulley and a loose pulley both mounted on said casing, said loose pulley being positioned forwardly of said discharge end of the slot and at least on a line even with said feed means of the machine, an endless belt passing over said pulleys, said belt being arranged parallel to the direction in which said articles are carried along by said machine, and moving in synchronism with the feed means of said machine.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein an adjustable stop member is provided on said casing bearing upon said machine whereby the pressure exerted by said belt upon said articles may be adjusted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,669,952 2/1954 Getaz 11227 3,009,430 11/1961 Lutz et al. 112-162 3,204,590 9/1965 Rockerath et al. 11220 3,340,834 9/1967 Rosso et al. 112-25 3,345,963 10/1967 Shoaf 112-203 XR H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner 

